Must Be the Heat
by Ethereal-Journey
Summary: Some playful antics with a sprinkler lead up to some steamy results.


**Disclaimer: **_CSI and its related characters belong to CBS, Alliance Atlantis, and the show's creators; no copyright infringement is intended._

**A/N:**_ This Jim and Cath one-shot was a response to Geekfiction's Summer Sizzler '06 fic-a-thon on Live-Journal; the prompt used was __sprinkler__. I must thank beaujolais for her wonderful beta skills and numerous words of encouragement._

**Summary: **_Some playful antics with a sprinkler lead up to steamy results._

**oooooo**

**Must Be the Heat**

"Jim?" Catherine continued down the length of the driveway looking concerned. "Jim, are you okay?"

"Over here, Cath."

Jim stepped out from behind his house and waved her over.

"Well, are you?"

"What? Why wouldn't I be?" He met her gaze with amusement.

Leaning against the corner siding she smiled broadly then shook her head. "You breezed through the lab earlier today and didn't bother extending that lunch invite to include me."

"Wasn't aware that you wanted to be included. Besides I had a few things to discuss with Grissom and that meant..."

"No girls allowed?"

"And how does that have anything to do with my well-being... uh, never mind. I'm an idiot for not considering you'd be a better lunch date." Chuckling, Jim turned his back on her then knelt down to adjust the hose snaking through the freshly mowed grass.

"Was it that bad?"

"What's that?"

"Your lunch date with Gil."

"Oh. He turned me down, said he had a better offer. So I came back home and used the time I had to take care of a few chores around the place." Jim wiped his forehead across his T-shirt sleeve and stood up.

"In this heat? You're gonna end up passing out."

"Nah, it ain't so bad. I've got some ice-cold lemonade and there's a bit of a breeze." He scanned his surroundings but nothing stirred. "Would you like me to pour you a glass?"

"Only if you don't mind having me—"

"I wouldn't mind that all," he interrupted her with a slight grin. "Cath, I may be an idiot, but I'm not insane. Sure, I'd love your company. Take a seat under the shade and I'll join you in a minute. I just gotta move the sprinkler to another spot."

"You've got a kink in it."

"Huh, a kink in what?"

"Your hose, there's a kink in it."

"Well that explains the low water pressure." Jim left Catherine standing there and failed to notice the mischievous gleam in her eyes.

He approached the brightly colored sprinkler head and stooped down to pick it up after pinching the hose together to avoid getting sprayed. Jim moved the sprinkler to another spot then set it down and released the hose, scratching his neck in confusion when nothing happened.

Catherine kept her foot firmly on the kink she had pointed out, while Jim maneuvered his way back up to the sprinkler head to investigate. She giggled as he gave it a swift kick and received no results, just a slight spurt.

Finally he took the bait and knelt down to retrieve it from among the grass.

Catherine took her foot off the folded section of hose and watched as it sprang back when the water pressure coursed through it.

"Dammit!" Jim sputtered and cursed a few more times then dropped the sprinkler. He stood there letting himself get drenched as Catherine looked on unable to control her rising laughter any longer.

"Oh yeah! Let's see how you like having the tables turned." Jim snatched the sprinkler head from the grass and aimed it at Catherine.

Shrieking as the spray of water hit her she turned her back to him and ran. "Stop!"

"Not so amusing now, is it, Cath?"

"Jim, stop! I'm sorry. Really, I am."

"Too late for that now." Jim chased her around the backyard listening to her sputter, curse, and beg for him to stop.

Catherine backed up into the side of the house trying to control her laughter. She shielded her face from the jets of cold water and Jim slowly approached her with a wide grin.

He pinched the hose and looked her squarely in the eyes. "Do you give up?"

"Wait a minute. You're the one with the hose."

Jim made a motion to straighten the hose out and she blinked. "Do you give up?"

"It depends, what are the terms of my surrender?"

"Oh, I don't know. We can figure something out."

Catherine exhaled softly and thought for a second then she purposely outstretched her hands in a show of surrender. His eyes roamed over her drenched body and Catherine knew she was giving him quite a display through the white cotton shirt she'd decided to wear.

Jim drank in the sight of her. The bangs of her hair were plastered to the side of her face but the rest of her hair was still held up by the tightly done chignon. Jim's breath caught as she slowly reached up with both hands to straighten her hair and the shirt grew taut over the roundness of her breasts.

Blinking twice Jim quickly roused himself out of a pleasant daydream then took a step back but Catherine grabbed him by the shirtfront. Jim dropped the hose in surprise and stared deeply into her eyes as she pressed herself up against him. He hesitated for a second and tried to pull out of her grasp but she would have none of it.

She watched as desire and need flared up in his expressive blue eyes then she smiled when a soft moan escaped his lips.

_To hell with it. _

Jim leaned in and softly brushed his lips against hers at first then deepened the kiss with a groan. Catherine slipped her hands underneath the thin material of his shirt and raked her fingernails up the length of his back, pulling him closer.

They lost themselves in each other for several minutes as their desires overcame the need for air. She tasted sweet and he reveled in it.

He broke the kiss and dipping his head he nipped along her jaw line causing her to gasp aloud. Urged on by her response he trailed his hand along the side of her writhing body and drew lazy circles around her erect nipple with his thumb and she stiffened.

Catherine opened her eyes and he held her gaze for several seconds, each communicating their desire to take their encounter further.

Jim moved his hand to her face, planted light kiss on her lips and shook his head in amazement.

"What brought that on?" he asked brushing away a strand of hair out of her eyes.

"I think the heat may be going to my head."

"Yeah sure, it's the heat." Jim stepped out of her embrace then pulled on his shirtfront and wrung out the excess water with a chuckle. "What do you say we go inside and get out of these wet clothes?"

"That sounds like a good idea."

**Fin**


End file.
